The weekend’s FA Cup quarter-final matches didn’t throw up any thrillers.Tottenham Hotspur breezed past Swansea and Manchester United defeated Brighton on Saturday.Southampton and Chelsea followed them into the semis, the Blues requiring extra-time to overcome Leicester City.It means we’re set for an all-Premier League slate when the four teams meet at Wembley Stadium on the weekend of April 21-22.Gianfranco Zola and Petr Cech, conducting the draw on BT Sport, did Chelsea a favour by picking Southampton out as the Blues’ next opponents.And Jose Mourinho’s side, who lacked “class, personality and desire” in the 2-0 win against Brighton according to the Portuguese coach, will take on Tottenham.
BT Sport presenter made a mistake
Yet if you only tuned in at the end of the draw, you could have been forgiven for thinking Man United were playing Chelsea.
BT Sport presenter Lynsey Hipgrave accidentally said the semi-final line-up was Chelsea versus Man United and Southampton against Tottenham.
The error was immediately picked up on by viewers.
Hipgrave has apologised on Twitter
To her credit, Hipgrave fronted up to the mistake by reacting on Twitter.
“That's live tv, not my first mistake and certainly won't be my last. Really sorry. Just checking you were all listening ð¤¦âï¸ ,” she wrote.
Who will win the FA Cup?
Chelsea are now the bookies’ favourites to win the FA Cup, which has as much to do with the draw than it does the actual quality of the four teams remaining.
Southampton are the team that Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino and Jose Mourinho wanted to meet and it was the Italian who had the most luck.
Tottenham will probably feel they have a slight advantage when they take on Man United due to Wembley being their current home.
Indeed, some irate United supporters want the FA to find a neutral location to stage the match.
Yet having that sort of advantage brings with it a pressure to deliver and we’ve seen in the past what Tottenham are like when the heat is on.
This is a club that hasn’t won a trophy since 2008 and won’t be taken seriously until it ends the drought.
It’s about time Tottenham got over the line, isn’t it?